Loughborough advertises Future Makers roles in student experience work

Updated Sep 07, 2026

Loughborough University’s 22 April 2026 announcement invited students to apply for Future Makers, a volunteer role developed with Loughborough Students’ Union. The advertised appointment period ran from May 2026 to July 2027, and applications closed at 11pm on 28 April 2026. These are historical recruitment details, not a currently open invitation. University announcement.

The advertised role

The university described work within its Education and Student Experience Transformation Programme. Activities included bringing student perspectives to meetings, supporting focus groups, working with particular student groups and helping develop projects.

The students’ union also advertised the role and its intended skills and experience benefits. Neither notice establishes how many students were appointed, which projects were delivered or whether the programme improved the wider student experience. Students’ union announcement.

Loughborough also has established academic representation roles through which students raise course concerns. Future Makers should be understood as an additional advertised form of involvement, without assuming it replaces those routes or represents all students. Academic representation.

Designing participation that can influence decisions

Our practical suggestion is to specify where participants have influence and how project decisions will be made. Explain the expected time commitment, support and arrangements for participation costs. A volunteer model raises different access questions from a paid role.

Record whose perspectives a group brings and who may be missing. Invite wider contributions where appropriate, and avoid treating a small project group as a substitute for all forms of student evidence.

Separate recruitment, participation, project delivery and outcomes when reporting progress. A role description can establish what was intended; it cannot establish that the intended benefits occurred.

If survey comments inform a project, define the dataset and review method first. The student comment analysis governance checklist can help with appropriate access and reporting. Qualitative themes can guide investigation without proving that a programme caused a later change.

Review note, 7 September 2026: verified the advertised dates and voluntary role, removed an unverified publication date for the union notice, and distinguished the recruitment plan from confirmed delivery and outcomes.